Pat Cummins has ticked off another step in his recovery from a stress-related back injury and still thinks the second Ashes Test at the Gabba remains “a live option”. The Australia captain bowled close to eight overs off a three-quarter run-up in Sydney mid-week and, crucially, pulled up pain-free.
Those are the bare facts. The more nuanced picture is that playing every Test once he does return might be optimistic. The series timetable is tight, with only an eight-day gap between the second and third Tests, then four-day turnarounds through to the fifth. All fast bowlers look at those dates, add up the overs, and wince a little.
“That’s the aim and we’re building our plan to the second Test,” Cummins said at Channel Seven’s season launch. “It’s probably not until you get a bit closer that you can really know where you’re at.”
The fast bowler, 32 next birthday, reported no recurrence of pain: “The good thing is that I’m pulling up well and the body is great.”
Selectors have so far kept their cards fairly close, but privately they accept the captain has made better progress than first forecast. Cummins’ next checkpoint is a full-pace session in Perth while the rest of the squad prepares for the opening Test at Optus Stadium.
“We’re trying to keep that second Test as a live option. I’ll have a really good bowl in Perth, and by then I’ll know where I’m at.”
Once available, staying on the park is the harder part. He was candid about that. “I’m pretty keen to play as much as I can,” he said. “But realistically, if we have a big game and bowl 40 or 50 overs and then there’s a game that starts a few days later, it might be a bridge too far. I’m trying to get right, and if I get right then hopefully I’ll try to play most of it as I can.”
Australia’s brains trust has already earmarked the third and fourth Tests – scheduled almost back-to-back – as potential points for rest and rotation. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are pencilled in for Brisbane and Adelaide, with Scott Boland keeping his place after that hat-trick in the Caribbean. Cameron Green, fresh from a Shield stint with Western Australia, is expected to offer up to 20 overs of lively seam and – equally useful – batting cover at No.6.
A warm-up hit-out in grade or Shield cricket has been ruled out. Instead, Cummins will shadow the group in Perth and sit alongside the coaches.
“Before the 2023 ODI World Cup I flew over to South Africa and watched the last couple of ODIs there,” he recalled. “It was actually a really different view from the coach’s box. It’s a different perspective.
“So hopefully I gather some information from being in that position through the Test that later on in the series I can use. Or maybe Steve Smith needs something and I have seen something differently from up there.”
The medical staff will watch every net. Stress fractures are unpredictable; the numbers say recurrence risk is highest inside the first twelve months. Yet Cummins’ action is repeatable, and he has learned the hard way when to push and when to throttle back.
If the next fortnight goes to plan, the captain will run down the Gabba hill looking for swing with the new ball. If it doesn’t, Australia have options, but they would rather their leader is out there, even if that means the odd game off later in the summer.
